3 keys to a Jets victory over Kirk Cousins and the Vikings

1) Hit Kirk Cousins early and often

The Jets should have the edge against one of the leakiest offensive lines in football. Cousins has weaved magic behind some shaky protection. Frankly, it’s a wonder he’s still in one piece.

The Jets’ decimated secondary that will be without starters Marcus Maye, Trumaine Johnson and Buster Skrine will have its hands full against arguably the league’s best WR tandem (Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs). So, it’ll be incumbent to get consistent pressure on Cousins. Otherwise it could be a very long day for Gang Green.

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The Vikings had their best game on the ground last week (five runs of 20-plus yards) behind a re-shuffled line that included right tackle Rashod Hill moving to the left side for injured starter Riley Reiff and inserting rookie tackle Brian O’Neill on the right side. Minnesota’s top running back, Dalvin Cook, will be a no-go again with his lingering hamstring issue.

Regardless, the Jets’ top priority will be putting heat on Cousins, who has been sacked 18 times, early. (He’s also had a propensity to get passes batted at the line of scrimmage).

“Like a lot of quarterbacks in the league, if you get in his face and you’re hitting him and sacking him and pressuring him early in the game, they’re going to start feeling it,” defensive lineman Henry Anderson said. “We just got to do a good job early getting after him…. If we don’t get there, we got to make sure we get our hands up, especially on quick throws on first and second downs. We got to make sure we get our hands up and bat some of those passes. If you can get after him early and put some big hits on him – legal hits on him – it can affect them the rest of the game.”

2) Don’t settle for field goals in the red zone

The good news last week: The Jets scored on eight consecutive drives.

The bad news last week: The Jets only scored 32 points on those eight drives because they settled for six field goals.

Gang Green was just 1 for 6 in red-zone efficiency last week. They’re dead last in the league (30 percent) inside the 20 through six weeks. It won’t be easy: The Vikings are second in red-zone defense (37.5 percent).

“Everything happens a little faster in the red zone,” offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates said. “It's a tighter field, the safeties and corners don't have to cover as much space. We just have to be more precise in our execution. I've got to call a better game in the red zone, and we've just got to continue to work.”

“The run game is always harder, because the boxes are much smaller,” he continued. “They don't have to cover as much ground. We are just going to continue to keep working and learning from last week. We've got to get seven. I think four out of the five teams last year that were in the top of touchdowns in the red zone made the playoffs. So, we can't settle for field goals. We know that. We've got to keep working on it and it's going to be a big focal point this week.”

3) Control the clock

The Jets dominated time of possession by 14 minutes against the Colts. A similar blueprint will go a long way toward sweeping their three-game homestand and getting above .500.

Bilal Powell and Isaiah Crowell, who both averaged fewer than four yards per carry last week, will face a formidable front that typically does a solid job against the run. Minnesota’s defensive line isn’t whole, but you can believe that Sheldon Richardson will want to leave his mark against his former team.

Sam Darnold will be without Quincy Enunwa (high-ankle sprain) and Terrelle Pryor (groin), but there are enough pass catchers to pick up the slack.